Forward Adrian Thomas has had an interesting first eight games with the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix, providing a huge spark from 3-point range and, then a stretch of quiet games, then ... back to top form. Let's take a quick look: *Nov. 3 against Miyazaki -- 25 points, 7-for-14 3s (win) *Nov. 4 against Miyazaki -- 41 points, 13-for-25 3s (win)

*Nov. 24 against Shiga -- 12 points, 3-for-11 3s (loss) *Nov. 25 against Shiga -- 23 points, 7-for-10 3s (win) In short, the Phoenix become a more dangerous club when Thomas, a University of Miami (Florida) product, scores 20 or more points. Limiting his shots from the outside appears to be a solid strategy for opponents, too.